NFL in London

National Football League in London

2020 London NFL games

New York Jokes

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The New York Jets have had such an abysmal season thus far, you wonder how far they can fall before they become full on jokes.
Adam Gase has all the Bill O’Brien like qualities to put his head on the chopping block, but for some reason he has hung on thus far.
Will this be the week of his demise.

Looking at Jets players, they have the same zest and zeal for the game as an 80 year old man working in an Amazon fulfilment centre. Frank Gore looks a shell of his former 40, 30 and 20 year old self, while Le’veon Bell sits and counts his Benjamins on the bench while he dreams about opening his own Chipotle.
Word is that Sam Darnold has reached out to movie star Bruce Willis this week to help him solve his ‘ghost-seeing’ problem.

It’s not just the state of New York that is having NFL performance issues this year, as Philly & Washington add to the overall ‘suck’ of the NFC East. This was a division that people feared in the 90s’, but just like frosted tips, things can fall out of fashion quickly.
Russell Wilson has more touchdowns that the collective quarterbacks in the NFC East combined.

Ambassador Woody Johnson seems oblivious to the whole situation. Granted an Ambassador can’t really step in as he performs his duties to the nation, but he might want to look to deport Adam Gase somewhere to stop the freefall of this once great team.
Curtis Martin would be spitting in his grave. Fortunately he’s not dead, so he just spits into social media.

It’s not even like they are ‘Tanking for Trevor’, as Sam Darnold was supposed to be the man of their salvation. Will the go 0-16 this year, or hope that the Corona-Fairy intervenes on their behalf?

Week 5 Preview

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It’s Week 5 in the NFL, so Wade and Ryan are here with another rousing podcast looking at all the games ahead.
It was a bit of a brutal week 4 for both guys, as Wade second guessed himself changing his picks last minute and dooming himself to a 6-9 record for the week. Ryan was a bit better at 7-9 for the week, consistent with his picks thus far this season.
Heading into week 5, Wade has a 35-26-1 record, and Ryan is battling a 24-37-1 record.
What does week 5 hold? Let’s take a look at some of their top picks.

Week 5 Picks

Panthers (2-2) Falcons (0-4)
Falcons -1.5  +54.5

The Falcons are favoured by 1.5 points, despite boasting no wins for the season thus far. The plucky Carolina team has been getting some nice wins and close games despite being without the best running back in the league. The Panthers defence has been playing solid every week and Teddy Bridgewater is starting to groove nicely into his role as starting QB.
Atlanta has been poor and porous, letting in more than a drunken doorman. They have tonnes of tools at their disposal, but despite Matt Ryans best efforts, their D continues to allow huge gains to wide receivers.
Ryan likes the Falcons to take their first win of the season, while Wade is calling for a Carolina upset.
Even more upsetting, if they win, they must sing ‘Sweet Caroline’ with their masks on.
Tragic.
Ryan-Falcons 24 Panthers 20
Wade-Panthers 31 Falcons 26

Eagles (1-2-1) vs Steelers (3-0)
Steelers -7  +44

Pittsburgh has benefitted from a Covid week off, while the Eagles are currently sitting in first place in the trash-tastical NFC East division.
Three games isn’t really enough to get a full grip on the Steelers, but they have looked pretty solid across the board. James Conner is ready to bust out for the rest of the season and establish himself as one of the premier running backs for the rest of the season.
The Eagles beat a depleted 49ers team last week under the helm of Nick Mullens, which isn’t saying much.
They have no real receivers, Carson Wentz is inconsistent, and they have relied on Myles Sanders to do all the dirty work. They have a fast front 4, but that will only get you so far.
Ryan likes the Eagles to cover a Steelers team that might not be fully focused, whereas Wade thinks that the battle of Pennsylvania will go to the hosts.
Ryan-Steelers 24 Eagles 20
Wade-Steelers 30 Eagles 18

Dolphins (1-3) 49ers (2-2)
49ers -8.5  +47

Jimmy G is back, and so is Raheem Mostert, but the team still doesn’t seem like it has all the pieces together to look like a contender.
Their defence is still full of holes, which was evident last week when the Eagles were able to move the ball down the field with ease.
No one expected much out of the Dolphins this year, but for some reason they have been close in most of their games. Miami has started with one of the toughest schedules in the league, and the games ahead should bode well for them. Most importantly, they’re having fun which is nice to see.
Ryan think that the 49ers are ready to romp over the Dolphins at home, but Wade has another plan…a Miami upset.
Ryan-49ers 23 Dolphins 20
Wade-Dolphins 23 49ers 20

DraftKings

One of the best ways to enjoy the NFL is to play along with Draftkings fantasy NFL. We have our own league called ‘NFL in London’ where we host loads of Sunday contests. Join the league and you can play every week for free or for paid contests. Our paid contests are modest, so you won’t be spending more than $5 to have some fun with new friends.
Enter here:
https://dkn.gs/r/kwxDR0JIokKPkA6cPjCtNA

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our Canadian friends, hopefully you can get together with your friends and family.
If you’re in London, pop down to the Maple Leaf in Covent Garden which will be showing the NFL until 10pm.

Stay safe, and have a great week in the NFL.

 

TNF-Bucs vs Bears

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Thursday Night Football (TNF) is back for week 5, with an exciting matchup between Tom Brady and the Bucs versus Nick Foles and the Bears. This game could be very good, if Chicago bothers to deliver their a-game.

Most Thursday night football games have been a massive bore, and the hatred of these games is well documented by the players. These games are even tougher to watch in the UK, where the games start at 1:30am and finish around the time the tube opens. Unless you are a total diehard fan, a cokehead or a shift worker, these can be difficult to watch when you have a ‘life’.
Of course, it’s the age of Covid 19, who has the time to have a life?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tom Brady is 3-1 to start the season, despite an early beating by the Saints. In week 4, TB12 and crew looked human, as Justin Herbert was able to march down the field with ease, hitting numerous receivers & making the Bucs D look pedestrian. This is no easy feat, as the Bucs boast one of the best defensive lines in the league.
Brady was also on fire, throwing for 5 touchdowns to 5 different receivers. Most of this action came in the second half, when the Bucs were able to catch their breath and mount an attack, even without Chris Godwin.
Chicago’s D will pose a new challenge for TB12, but after seeing what Philip Rivers was able to do last week against the Bears, Brady should have no problem picking holes in a secondary that got gashed in mid field passes.
OJ Howard will be out again, which means that pitiful Rob Gronkowski should be able to see more touches in this one. Gronk has been dropped by numerous fantasy teams, so the faith in the big man has waned over the past few weeks.
Both teams have only had 4 days to prepare, but you would have to give the edge to Tom & Bruce for being able to pull it together for this one.

Chicago Bears

The Bears are 3-1, but are they really. Pundits were quick to jump on the Bears as imposters, as the first 3 wins came from Mitch Trubisky rallies in the second half.
Nick Foles has done what Foles does. He is able to muster a comeback, but put him in a starting role, and he is inconsistent and awkward.
Perhaps the Bears should look at starting Mitch, then bringing in Foles in when the game starts to go awry. At least this way opposing defensives would have to prepare for two different quarterbacks, which is some advantage.
The Bucs have the best run D in the league right now, so Montgomery will be facing loads of walls in this one. Hopefully the Bears stop trying to use Cordarelle Patterson in a RB role up the middle. It has not worked once this season, and he ends up getting smashed into a wall of opposition. They have yet to effectively use him in a slant or option role, and should explore that before the dude gets busted.
Foles looked ineffective last week against the Colts, and missed on numerous easy passes.
If he can’t find room in a defence that was ripped apart by Justin Herbert last week, we will quickly find ourselves in a new quarterback controversy.

Prediction

The Bucs will establish themselves quickly, with Mike Evans swamping the hapless Bears with his size and speed. The Bears will continue to go 3 and out in their initial drives until they finally get some scores in the second half. By then, it will be too late.

Bucs 30 Bears 20

 

Jameis 30

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Jameis Winston certainly has had a topsy turvy career. From first round pick, to number one in pickoffs, Jameis brings as much excitement as he does disappointment.
It only seems fitting then that Jameis should have his own 30 for 30.

Ok, maybe not a real ESPN 30 for 30 episode, but a YouTube mockery version that takes aim at both his greatness and ineptitude.
Jameis now riding the pines in New Orleans, but it was only a year ago that he was leading the Bucs on a mediocre charge in which they missed the playoffs.

Sure Jameis has a great arm, unfortunately the aim of that arm had more picks than a crusty nosed cokehead the next morning.
He was never one that you could count on to either take or regain the lead, but he was good at being able to create excitement in a game that you never really cared about.

To honour Jameis, so wise asses online decided to make a mock 30 for 30 episode about the main who gets 30 TDs and 30 INTs.
A fitting tribute to the mid range QB that he is.

Sky NFL Week 5

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Sky Sports have released their Week 5 NFL viewing schedule, so get ready to make plans…and then potentially have them change. Last week the schedules were shuffled due to a Covid outbreak on both the Titans and Patriots (damn you Cam!), so it seems likely that the same might happen again this week.

TNF

Thursday the Chicago Bears host TB12 and the high flying Bucs. The Bears whimpered to the Colts last week, as Nick Foles showed his prowess once again as a starter. Tampa Bay was almost upset by the kid Herbert, but was able to outperform and outlast to win, but not cover the spread.
This game has all the signs of a TB12 beat down. Will Gronk finally score?
Available on Sky Sports and Amazon Prime.

Sunday

Sky has brought back some familiar teams from previous weeks to play again on Sunday, with the Chiefs hosting the Raiders at 6pm, and the Colts visiting the Browns at 9:25pm.
Again, these games could change if someone decides to sneeze in another dudes face, but this is the lineup so far.
The Chiefs should savage the helpless Raiders, while Baker Mayfield is up against one of his biggest defensive challenges all year.
The late game has a whiff of stink on it, as the Vikings visit Seattle in which should be another big L for Minnesota.
If you’re staying up late to watch this, you’re probably on something.

Monday

Monday night football (technically Tuesday morning in the UK) is back again with an interesting match up. The Chargers have played some great D, whereas the Saints have struggled to keep up with other teams this season. Will Drew Noodle-Arm be able to contain Justin the kid?
Available on Sky Sports and Channel 5.

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